Arts and Crafts at the Center

November 30, 2017

Sewing, knitting, crocheting and quilting groups at North Shore Senior Center provide an outlet for individuals to learn new crafts as well as master their skills. However, these groups also connect participants with similar interest creating a close knit bond and new friendships.

In the knitting studio, participants work on their own projects. For example, our talented quilters have time to work alone as well as together with groups, which provides opportunities to share their quilting secrets. Other fiber arts groups include the Stitchers, Sewing Bees and Share the Warmth clubs.

The weaving studio is a sunny, spacious room where experienced and skilled weavers use looms to work on their personal projects. Like other fiber arts artisans, Dorothy Kroll has enjoyed producing her loom weaving projects at the Center for many years. She says she not only benefits from the companionship of other craftswomen but also appreciates the skill-related give and take of her community of weavers.

Friendship Circle offers a unique opportunity to work on a project while giving back to our community. About a dozen seniors who have early memory loss or hearing or vision loss get together twice a week for socializing and structured activities. Service projects help fulfill their desire to be useful, though, and not merely socialize. They find joy, for example, in making stuffed animals for children undergoing care at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, and being pen pals with first graders from Faith, Hope and Charity School.

Applied arts is only one small piece of the Enrich learning “bucket” of the Center’s Lifelong Learning program. Other experiential and skills-based categories of learning include adventure in the outdoors, computer and technology, language and senior issues.